The Flight School Association of North America (FSANA), has partnered with Symbiotics Ltd, a prescreening company, to support FSANA's vision for a new era in Ab Initio flight training. FSANA expects prescreening of pilot applicants to become a benchmark in the pilot Ab Initio flight training industry.
The International Aerospace Accrediting Commission (IAAC) agrees that all flight schools should incorporate some level of prescreening as part of their application process. One of the IAAC accreditation standards includes the requirement to establish a vetting process which will support the enhancement of human performance aspects of career cockpit management, which in turn supports overall human performance in the cockpit.
FSANA and Symbiotics expect that pilot aptitude assessments (PAA) will become a common part in the United States and beyond with respect to a person's journey to becoming a pilot. PAA is currently being used by airlines to predict a candidate's likelihood to be successful in the airline cadet flight training process. Fully qualified pilots looking for new jobs are also likely to encounter pilot aptitude tests.
This new partnership will see Symbiotics offering Pilot Aptitude Assessment programs to FSANA members who will receive special benefits as part of their FSANA membership. FSANA President and CEO Robert Rockmaker commented,
The introduction of prescreening pilot applicants is one of the most significant enhancements to the pilot production pipeline since the Wright Brothers made their maiden voyage on December 17, 1903.
Rockmaker notes that,
Pilot prescreening is a significant milestone which should be embraced by all flight training providers no matter what a person's goals are in the pilot space.
The Ab Initio drop-out rate in America has been far too high for too many years. Prescreening will create a safer and more efficient flight training industry and save people and flight schools time and money.
Tyler Tenbrink, Director of Talent and Development at Piedmont Airlines, owned by American Airlines commented,
The introduction of prescreening pilot applicants at the Ab Initio level ushers in a new and much needed process for the creation of new pilots at all levels.
Prescreening will further lower the washout rate for new cadets at the regional and major airlines as prescreening becomes the standard at the start line of the pilot production process. There are people who can be successful in the cockpit in a single engine aircraft at 120 knots and 6,000 feet however those same people can not meet the standards when flying at 450 knots at 35,000 feet in a complex aircraft.
Symbiotics Technical Director Richard Brecknell added,
FSANA and the IAAC are striving for the highest standards in the flight training industry, and we are excited to partner with them to provide our psychological expertise and assessment solutions in support of this program.
